This years MCAS scores demonstrated growth among the school district as well as strengths in mathematics and science but English language arts remains an area of concern.

The principals of the high school, middle school and elementary school delivered their reports regarding the 2024 MCAS scores with the School Committee during the Oct. 3 school committee meeting.

Based on test scores, all three of the schools were deemed to not require assistance or intervention from the state and it was determined the elementary and middle school are making substantial progress toward their goals and the high school is making moderate progress toward its goals.

For the elementary school, grades three and four took the MCAS test for math and English language arts and the results showed growth in some areas and room for improvement in others.

For grades three and four, the test results in math were a high point for the school and the area of concern was English.

According to Bethany Chandler, principal of Wareham elementary, the two main contributors to the success in math are the class curriculum and the practice given to students on a daily basis.

Chandler said the school has incentivized students to go home and practice math independently through an online program that allows them to earn points and accolades as they learn.

With reading and writing in the classroom not being sufficient practice, Chandler said the school continues to look for ways to create an incentive program that could provide similar benefits to that of the existing math program.

Chandler added that there are elementary school students who attend summer school to help them improve their reading and writing schools but she does not have enough space to offer summer school to every student.

"This past year my whole school was filled for summer school," said Chandler to the school committee.

Another high point for the school was the performance of the lowest performing students. According to Chandler, this is normally an area of concern for the school but this past year showed significant growth, especially for students with disabilities.

The middle school saw similar results to the elementary school where scores across the tested subjects are showing improvement but there are still benchmarks to meet.

Middle school students are tested in math and English and fifth graders are tested in science as well.

Tracie Cote, principal of Wareham middle, explained she is "very proud" of how the fifth graders scored in science and she credits the teachers for preparing the kids for the test.

Cote explained the sixth graders had a "dip" in performance and she plans on working with the teachers to assess how they can better prepare the students for the test in the future.
The scores for seventh grade show growth in the math and English tests but Cote said she would like to continue to see higher test scores.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt, especially in English but Cote said she is seeing improvement.

"Each year we get away from the pandemic it gets a little bit better," said Cote.

Cote explained the school has spent significant time dedicated to reading and writing education and there has been collaboration between English, science and social studies teachers to help the students improve their reading and writing skills.

According to Cote, allowing the teachers to have a say in the way they present the curriculum has made a positive impact on the students.

"I said to the teachers I trust you are a good educator, show me what you can do," said Cote to the School Committee. "We follow the standard and we follow the curriculum but [the teachers] may present it in a different way."

Scott Palladino, principal of Wareham high, said he is "really happy with the progress the school has been making."

Palladino reported that the eighth graders performed better this year than previous years across the three tested subjects and this showed positive growth.

For the tenth graders, Palladino reported there was some positive growth but the scores across math, science and English were areas of concern.

Palladino credited the shown growth to reintroducing core classes back into the curriculum and he expects to see scores go up in the future as more students take the core classes.

One of the biggest issues across the three schools is chronic absenteeism, which negatively impacts the MCAS scores.

The elementary school had good attendance but there was a small percentage of students who were chronically absent and getting those kids in school Chandler said this remains a point of focus.

In the middle school, Cote is also working on getting more kids in school and said around 25% of students are chronically absent. Cote explained these students often place amongst the lowest performing students.

The high school is also seeing a chronic absentee issue, especially in the eighth grade with a "huge" chronic absentee rate, according to Palladino. He said the school is continuing to address the issue.

The next step for the principals is to work with their school councils to develop a school improvement plan.